“Promise Me Something” is an uncompromising story about Reyna, a girl who, separated from her longtime classmates by school redistricting, reluctantly becomes friends with Olive, a brash loner at her new school.

Reyna knows that Olive is a social leper. By associating with Olive, Reyna knows that she’s likely to be branded an oddball as well. But without her pals, Reyna is on her own anyway. As Olive bluntly notes, “You’re the only person in this school who needs a friend as much as I do.”

The promise Olive extracts from Reyna: “Never lie to me.” It is a phrase that Olive bears like a standard. It’s a phrase that Reyna, a less confident adolescent, cannot say truthfully.Read more…